List of countries in the Own Eurovision Song Contest
Seventy-two countries have participated in the Own Eurovision Song Contest since it started in 2012. The contest, organised by the Own European Broadcasting Union, is held between members of the Union. Broadcasters from different countries submit songs to the event, and cast votes to determine the most popular in the competition. Participation in the contest is primarily open to all active member broadcasters of the OEBU. To be an active member, broadcasters must be a member of the Own European Broadcasting Union. Eligibility to participate is not determined by geographic inclusion within the continent of Europe, despite the "Euro" in "Eurovision", nor does it have a direct connection with the European Union. Countries geographically outside the boundaries of Europe can compete. These includes several transcontinental countries with only part of their territory in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. The number of countries participating each edition has grown steadily. A record 65 countries participated in the 26th edition. As the number of contestants has risen, preliminary competitions have been introduced, to ensure that as many countries as possible get the chance to compete. In the 11th edition, a third semi-final was introduced. In the 31st edition, the union set a limit of forty-eight countries, therefore a relegation rule was introduced; the lowest-placed countries in the previous contest would not compete in the following edition. In the 43rd edition, a quarter-final was introduced; five lowest-placed countries from each semi-final from the previous edition would compete in the quarter-final in order to advance to the semi-finals. After the quarter-final, two semi-finals are held with all countries, except the host country and the Big Five, participating in one of the semi-finals. Some countries, such as Greece, Romania, Spain and Turkey have entered most editions, while Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have only entered once. Participants The following table lists the countries that have participated in the contest at least once. Other countries Several countries that were members of OEBU have participated in the past. However, due to restrictions set by the union, the farthest geographically countries were refused membership and further participation. Some of them later joined other unions and could participate in the partner contests. For example: Greenland joined the Own American Broadcasting Association and thus could debut in the Own Americavision Song Contest; the countries from Central and Western Asia joined the Own Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and debuted in Own Asiavision Song Contest. Vatican City also used to participate in the past through its member broadcaster Vatican Radio (RV), but later withdrew. It is believed that RV might refuse to participate due to the church's condemning of homosexuality, which is often endorsed by the contest. Åland Islands, despite having participated and even winning the contest, was declined their OEBU membership due the restrictions that only sovereign states are allowed to participate. After the reunification of the United Kingdom, the constituent countries of the kingdom — England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales — could not participate on their own anymore. See also *List of host cities of the Own Eurovision Song Contest *List of Own Eurovision Song Contest winners Category:Own Eurovision Song Contest Category:Lists